“Apple Inc. is working on a lower-end iPhone, according to people briefed on the matter, a big shift in its corporate strategy as its supremacy in smartphones has slipped,” Jessica E. Lessin reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body, one of the people said,” Lessin reports. “One possibility Apple has considered is lowering the cost of the device by using a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic; in contrast, the iPhone 5 currently has an aluminum housing. Many other parts could remain the same or be recycled from older iPhone models. Apple could decide not to move forward with the device.”

Lessin reports, “Apple has been considering a less-expensive iPhone since at least 2009 to grab market share and hook people on the brand, said people familiar with the efforts… Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, said that a less expensive iPhone won’t necessarily hurt Apple’s overall profit margin if it attracts buyers who haven’t bought iPhones before and not those who would have been willing to purchase the higher-end device.”

Maybe in the past. But they do care about the emerging market going forward. How could they not? Margins will have to come down for Apple products someday. You don’t have to make a lot on every product that you produce. But those products help you keep your foot in the door. That is what is important. Can you say China and India? So can Apple.

The article above says nothing about prepaid or about emerging markets. So not sure what all the hostility is about.

The article above said Appple was considering making a low cost iphone to “hook people on the brand”. I was just pointing out that Apple is currently doing that with a free ( yes I know subsidized) iphone 4.

Nah. See, I met this guy in an upscale bar on Pagemill and he said he was with Apple and he had this new prototype iPhone he was testing…so I decided to use this as the basis for the article in the WSJ.